Clashes in Congo claim 26 lives, police says

At least 26 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in clashes between government and rebel forces, police says.

Tuesday’s eight-hour clashes took place in the southern city of Lubumbashi in the province of Katanga, where Congolese soldiers managed to push the rebels back, said Lubumbashi police inspector-general Patrick Sadiki.

A secessionist group in the region, called Mai Mai Kata Katanga, launched the assault, which left 26 dead, including government soldiers and the rebel fighters.

Meanwhile, the city, which has a population of more than a million, was deserted, Sadiki added.

Thirty percent of global cobalt reserves and 10 percent of world’s copper mines lie in Katanga.

Despite the demise of the March 23 rebel group, the DRC continues to host a multitude of rebel groups mostly operating in the country’s mineral-rich east.

On November 5, 2013, the DRC claimed “total victory” over the M23 after capturing the group’s remaining hilltop positions north of the eastern city of Goma with the assistance of a UN-mandated African force.

Congo has faced numerous problems over the past few decades such as grinding poverty and crumbling infrastructure.